DKNY Perfume review

(I got this perfume on the boxing day sale last year a Harrods! Didn't get round to blogging about it. So here we go.)

When I was about 11 or 12 years of age, I didn't wear or own any perfumes. One day as I was flicking through a women's fashion magazine, I saw a perfume sample from the DKNY perfume pictured above. I smelt it and I remember being so intrigued that I kept the sample with me so that one day, when I can afford to and when I'll be mature enough, I can buy this fragrance.

That day was one of the few days which slowly paved my way into my fascination with scents.

I remember capturing the scent in my head each time I smelt the sample so that I won't forget it. It's a very friendly smell, for all ages, for all women. Not too strong, not too light. It's my perfect blend of sour citrusy elixir. Sharp crisp top notes, sour tangy middle notes and light gentle base notes...

I would replay this over and over again.

 It doesn't cost a fortune and the scent is simple yet still continues to captivate me as it did in the past. It's so summery and I love wearing this in the summer, but also during winters because I feel like I'm still carrying part of the summer season with me.

The first time I got this perfume was several years later. I already lost the perfume sample by then but I remember sampling different scents at Boots and then stumbling on to this and it was then that I was brought back to memory lane, back to the day I first smelt the sample. I immediately got the fragrance. And since then, I've been restocking. This is my latest addition after another empty bottle of the DKNY fragrance. 

I just love it!

Black XS by Paco Rabanne

 

 Since my last perfume related post, my scent collection has not stopped growing. I am obessed as ever with scents and keep up to date with new perfumes.

Black XS by Paco Rabanne was a perfume I got last year in December and I totally forgot to blog about this but still had the saved pictures, so I thought why not blog about it now? 

Black XS at first seemed like a very mature version of Britney Spears' original Fantasy perfume. Actually they are not similar in many ways but both have a very distinctive sweetness to them which linked the two for me.

Black XS is a sweet potion but for those of you who might not be too fond of overly sweet scents, this might be a good perfume because the sweetness is almost masked by musk and liquorice? I can't quite tell what the heavy scents are. The amazing thing is that they mask the sweet scent so gently so as to achieve a wonderful balance. And because of this it is mysterious, as portrayed by its bottle's design.

Definitely an evening wear to me. And I wouldn't wear this in hot weather as it might be overpowering.

It lasts a fair amount of time, 3-4 hours until a re-application is needed. To me that is one of the disadvantages. But then again, this is an Eau de Toilette. Sadly, they don't do Eau de Parfums.

DKNY Golden Delicious Review

During the weekend, DKNY launched 3 new perfumes. All their scents are based on yummy desserts. Having smelt them all I opted for the Pink Macaroon perfume. I will blog about this later. With the purchase, I received numerous samples, most of which are DKNY perfumes, so I will blog about them all once I trial them properly.

{Above: All the samples I was given}

Let me start with the DKNY Golden Delicious Eau be Parfum...

DKNY Golden Delicious does not disappoint and lives up to its name.

The perfume bottle has a joyful aura compared to the other DKNY apples, which lures you into giving it a chance to see what it can offer. So if you see one around, 'take a special bite' as DKNY says.

DKNY has released a few apple scents now, each unique in their own way. If you like the scent of sweet apples, DKNY has it. If you prefer sour apples, DKNY has that too. For me though, my apple elixir is Nina Ricci's apple because it's sweeter and more intense which is more to my preference.

DKNY Golden Delicious opens up with the scent of freshly bit apples and orange blossom, then quickly sinks into more floral notes. Vanilla and lilly of the valley are distinguishable and these are complimented by the base notes of musk and sandalwood. This combination caught me off guard as I expected the usual apple scent to stay from its top notes all the way to its base notes.

But this difference is exactly what makes this scent 'Golden'.

It is also what makes this scent wearable for both the day and the night and to any occasion. It is a more mature scent but it still has that innocence in it ,it's more vibrant and it is a very happy scent to put on.

If you're looking for a fragrance for spring, try this. Upon testing it, it lasted 4-5 hours on average.

The only down point to this fragrance is the fact that in my opinion it resembles Dior's J'adore but doesn't compare to it so it lacks originality. But it is possible that I am just being harsh!

Other than that, I think this is one of the best fragrances released by DKNY.

Penhaligon's Gardenia - My New Favourite Perfume

I don't know where to begin with this post. I feel like I have SO much to say about Penhaligon & their amazing Gardenia perfume, but I'll try not to ramble on ^.^

From the first time I saw a Penhaligon's store, I was captivated by just about everything in the store; from its beautiful displays, its traditional perfumes, the originality... I was entranced.

Founded in 1870 in Mayfair, Penhaligon still sells original compositions from that date. It has other compositions on future dates such as 1872, 1902, 1927, 1930, 1949 all the way to (currently) 2009 !
I like the fact that the interior of the store and the design of its bottles stayed old fashioned, as they were. Preserved through time.

I knew that one day I definitely will be getting a Penhaligon perfume. I smelt so many of their perfumes. Most of them are mature, some are very strong and all of them are completely unique in their own way.
But when I tried Gardenia, it was like magic created - like a genie appearing from a lamp; almost like I was transported to a mystical surreal garden.
It caught me by that big of a surprise that the first time I sprayed it on two years ago, I kept bugging a friend of mine to smell it continuously and couldn't stop talking about how wonderful and unique it smells.
It's absolutely spell-bounding...
With a price tag of £98, this was way out of my range. As much as I wanted it, I couldn't allow myself to spend that much!

So I was so excited when I got this as a present. I immediately pushed all my collection of perfumes further back on my shelf and put Gardenia right at the front in its box.

It has become my favourite perfume.
The more I smell it, the more I discover something about it and I like it more and more.

Gardenia was launched in 1976. This is one perfume that I have a hard time describing (I tried to think about exactly how to describe it before this post, but couldn't come up with suitable descriptions), so I have taken most of its descriptions from Penhaligon's site. It's very unique, complex...truly one of a kind.

Its composition is the following:

Head Notes
Violet, Rhubarb, Bergamot, Hyacinth, Magnolia, Green Leaves

Heart Notes
Gardenia, Rose, Ylang, Orange Blossom, Tuberose, Jasmine, Clove, Cinnamon, Lily of the Valley

Base Notes
Benzoin, Sandalwood, Musk, Vanilla

One of the most striking and amazing thing is that you can make out each and every one of these notes when you smell Gardenia. They're all distinguisable, something that, I think, is very rare. I also like the high composition of Jasmine in it.

Penhaligon notes:

Our fine fragrances are made in England using the finest rare ingredients; from hand-squeezed bergamot, to jasmine at twice the price of gold. Our signature Penhaligon’s fragrance bottle is to William Penhaligon's original design: clear glass with a distinctive ribbon-wrapped top.

Inside Penhaligon. I captured these pictures to show you how one of their stores look like. I admire the timeless designs and bottles of perfumes...

Even their wrapping paper is amazing (yes. I kept it haha!)

Night by Emporio Armani

Let me start off this post (irrelevantly) with some delicious lychees I ate =P

If you haven't taste these yet, do not get the canned lychees! The fresh ones are a lot tastier.

Okay - so here goes my review on Emporio Armani's Night.

' What I think... ,

This is a discontinued product. Emporio Armani stopped making it a few years ago - I was really disappointed learning that because this is such an amazing mild perfume!

This is one of my favourite perfumes which I can wear on any occasion because its scent isn't too strong and it's so well balanced.

Plus, it's an Eau de Parfum - so it lasts for a long time!

This also happens to be the first fragrance I've ever tried from Emporio Armani...and did it take me by surprise!

The first few times I wore this, I wasn't so into the scent... But the more I wore it, the more I began to really like it. To this present day, it brings me so many dear & sweet memories that I want to stock up on this so it never runs out (but I think perfumes do expire, so that would be an unwise thing to do =P).

' Notes ... ,

This fragrance is so delicate and feminine. There's a blend of musk, soft jasmine, sandalwood, blackcurrent, cranberries. It's so soothing & blends so well with one's skin.

The lotion lasts all day!

An imprint carved on the perfume bottle.

I have a last unopened eau de parfum of Night - I haven't open this yet as I want to preserve the fragrance!

The opened bottle's fragrance no longer smells like it should =( ( but it has been years since I bought that! I should have used all of it...! )

Liking the simple innovative design. The bottle feels like it's made of light metal (perhaps tin?) and to spray on, you have to push down on the user friendly rubber shown below.

The last remaining bottles are still available online if any of you are interested to get it. The only thing I'd be against advising any of you on getting this is...I'm not sure if this will suit some people. Yes, it's a friendly fragrance & it's unique. But it took me a while until I began to like it and it grew on me!

What a delightful fragrance ^.^

~ A little something to cherish ~

Toujours Glamour by Moschino

Toujours Glamour by Moschino is a wonderful easy going casual wear fragrance aimed at those who love citrus based scents or lily of the valley.

The top notes are (what I make out to be)...a mix of lime, lemon & strong dominant notes of lily of the valley.

After it settles, you can just about make out a jasmine scent (it would have been better if they strengthened the jasmine concentration in this perfume as jasmine usually stays for a long period of time!), a hint of bitter note lurking somewhere, cardamom spice... I think that sums up the scent of this perfume...(not particularly interesting, which is why I'd label it casual).

You would most likely need top ups for this perfume as the staying power isn't great - I'd say it'll last you 4-5 hours. I just realised it's an Eau de Toilette, so perhaps that's why!

My final verdict: Let's just say the bottle is better than the scent =P

The original perfume is better (in my opinion) but this version gives it a good spicy twist...

...Fruity, musky & bitter!

Lush New Year with 212 anyone...?

With the bank holiday gone by, I think it has finally dawned on me that 2011 is here and it is now Tuesday the 4th of January!

Somehow I didn't feel 2010 has quite passed ... until this morning (is it just me?)

I normally fill in my diary the day before new year, with the exception of this year where I bought my diary only 2 days ago; and I completely forgot about any New Year's resolution (bizarrely enough!).

So I reached out for my new diary and off I began filling it out... ahhh =] the start of a new leaf... and Spring is just around the corner!

Before the VAT increase, I decided to opt for some Lush goodies I need - namely a conditioner and a free face mask!

I've decided to spend on only necessary things this year and save the pennies! =P (And no, this isn't a resolution I've made. I think for a lot of us it's a habit or skill we have to learn or develop - to be 'wise spenders').

I got an edition of the latest Lush Times, which I haven't read through yet (if you want to read it, I think there is an online version of it - check out their website).

Have you heard?

The founders of Lush got a spectacular recognition award, obtaining an OBE! This just shows how much LUSH has grown as a company, not just in the UK, but worldwide. I checked their store locations and they have a LUSH at countries you wouldn't guess, such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Philippines etc.

One of the things I like about LUSH's success is that they seem to achieve success in a humble way, through launching animal cruelty campaigns, to being concerned about the environment. You can sense just how passionate they are about what they do and what they believe in.

As far as I know, I don't think LUSH uses advertising for their company. Most of their success and expansion happens through word of mouth and networking sites such as blogs or youtube etc.

All in all - it's very rare nowadays to find a decent company who tries to succeed in a humble approach...

Lush offer a free face mask for every 5 empty black pots. I've managed to collect 5 of them: 2x Retread Conditioner (my favourite conditioner), 2x Love lettuce (my favourite face mask), 1x Cupcake (which is a great face mask but not my favourite as it doesn't have exfoliating bits in it).

I exchanged it for the 'Brazened Honey' face mask. On the first trial, I found this very gentle on the skin. It has the exfoliating scrub bits which I like. It smells wonderful. And it makes one's face glow and supple soft upon washing it off. This might just be better if not as good as the Love Lettuce face mask.

And finally, a quick review on the 212 Sexy perfume by Carolina Herrera. I've been wanting to get its original version for the longest time (which comes in a white bottle). However, I avoided getting that because some reviews commented on how putrid it smells! Although I don't quite agree...

212 Sexy featured below is a twist of its original version. It smells more spicy on its top notes. I can almost make out some kind of ginger smell (??) and pepper. Frankly, I don't like the top notes but what I do like is.............the notes it settles to right after that!

It smells almost like a personal fragrance, calm and light... I make out hints of musk and vanilla.

This is a great perfume for those who don't want to be spraying themselves with over powering perfumes. To me, it's almost as if only the wearer can smell the perfume after the top notes settle down - which is another reason I described it as a personal fragrance.